QUETTA: The bodies of thirteen coach passengers out of fifteen, who had been abducted last night and slain near Mach of District Bolan, were recovered from nearby mountains Tuesday morning, Geo News reported.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility of the killings.

Assistant Commissioner Mach, Kashif Nabi told Geo News that dozens of unknown armed persons Monday night abducted 15 persons from two coaches in Kashtari near Mach, whose bodies were found from the nearby mountains Tuesday morning. The coach was enroute to Punjab from Quetta.

All those passengers were shot to death by the culprits, he said. He further told that all the murdered persons belonged to Sadiqabad, Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur areas of Punjab.

The militants also kidnapped seven Levies personnel who were patrolling the area. Two passengers and the Levies personnel were freed by the terrorists.

Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and the hunt for the accused was in progress.

One security man, Gul Muhammad, was killed and two others were wounded in a shootout out that ensued as the security forces intervened during the abduction of the passengers from the coaches Monday night.

The district administration official said that approximately 200 militants dressed in security forces uniform carried out the attack.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has strongly condemned the incident and sought report from the concerned authorities.

The provincial government has also announced to pay compensation money to the bereaved families.